UFC On Versus Preview: Can Cheick Kongo Rebound With A Win Over Paul Buentello?

Cheick Kongo is coming off a pretty embarrassing loss to Frank Mir back at UFC 107.  It's not that losing to Mir is embarrassing, it's the way Kongo lost to Mir that probably haunts him.  Many people(including myself) thought Kongo would enjoy a striking advantage against Mir, but that never came to fruition as Mir deposited Kongo to the mat with a filthy left hook early in the first round.  Once Kongo went down, Mir pounced on him and locked in a guillotine that almost popped Kongo's head off, and he would have had Kongo not passed out.  Kongo's strength is striking, and although he's improved his wrestling since his UFC debut it's still nothing to write home about.  Luckily, he won't need too much of it against Paul Buentello this weekend as the two square off on at the UFC on Versus event.

Buentello is coming off a sloppy, but exciting fight against Stefan Struve at UFC 107 as well.  Buentello is nicknamed the "Headhunter" for a reason and it's not because wrestling is one of his favorite past times.  It was a fight that saw Buentello land bomb after bomb against Struve, only to see the tall lanky kid eat those shots and keep coming and earning a majority decision.  So Buentello will be looking to get back on track with a win against Kongo. 

In the grand scheme of things this fight doesn't really have much meaning, but it's a very important fight for both fighters.  At his age, a loss for Buentello could potentially mean his last fight in the UFC.  Fighters like Buentello can't really afford back to back losses against guys like Struve and Kongo.  So I'm sure he'll be looking to end this one in exciting fashion.  The only problem is that Kongo has only been stopped via KO/TKO once in his entire MMA career, and that was almost 6 years ago.  Kongo will probably enjoy a reach advantage as well.  Kongo on the other hand is in a little better shape in regards to where he stands with the promotion.  He has lost two fights in a row, but they were both top ten opponents.  Not to mention that Kongo is usually a pretty exciting fighter and that's why this fight is on the main card to be honest.  Both fighters come out looking to bang, and that's probably what we are going to witness this weekend.  How do you see this one unfolding?  

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